Ridgewood High School senior Young Hoe Koo signs his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday to attend Georgia Southern University on a full football scholarship. In the back row, from left, are his father, Hyun Seo Koo, guidance counselor Lauren Hellman, RHS head football coach Chuck Johnson and Koo’s mother, Seung Mae Choi.

On Wednesday, Ridgewood High School senior placekicker Young Hoe Koo signed a National Letter of Intent to accept a full football scholarship at Georgia Southern University. In anticipation of Monday’s RHS Media Day, The Ridgewood News conducted a question-and-answer session with the Maroons’ all-time leading kick scorer to begin its two-part series on National Signing Day:

THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS: According to your [RHS] football coach, Chuck Johnson, Georgia Southern is a program that on the rise, with plans to renovate its stadium and make the jump from the FCS [Football Championship Subdivision, formerly Division I-AA] to the FBS [Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly I-A] in the next few years. Is that something that went into your decision?

YOUNG HOE KOO: Georgia Southern, when I first talked to them and everything, I didn’t know about all that. Once I got there, I liked the place and everything; then on top of that, I found out about the stadium expansion and about moving up to I-A. So everything kind of worked out great.

RN: Georgia is a long way from Ridgewood. Talk a little bit about what the area and what it’s like. Is it anything like up here, and what drew you to that area?

YHK: When I went down there, I didn’t know what to expect, but it definitely had a different vibe. There’s a lot of land, it’s not like a city [setting] or anything like that. Statesboro is kind of a college town, so there’s not much there besides the campus itself. But it’s a growing town and a growing university. And, what actually made me want to go there was that the sense of family that they gave me – I felt very wanted there.

RN: You were a varsity kicker for the Maroons all four years. You also developed into a starting cornerback, so you did get to play defense, too. What did you like playing best when you were in high school?

YHK: Corner, definitely. In middle school, I started playing football, and I played wide receiver [on offense] and defense, as well as kicking. In high school, I actually learned how to kick as a placekicker from coach Pat [Sempier, a local independent coach who specializes in kicking]. Freshman, sophomore and junior years, I got to practice with the varsity on the scout team, and besides kicking, I loved playing anywhere. And when I was asked to play defense [with the first string] as a senior, I was ready to go.

RN: Is there a chance you might play any position besides kicker at Georgia Southern, and would you be both the punter and placekicker, as you were for Ridgewood?

YHK: I think they do have a punter, so I’ll be just kicking, and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to play defense (laughs).

RN: Did you make any other official college visits?

YHK: I went to James Madison a week before Georgia Southern, and that was the other offer I had. I liked the place and everything, but I heard the [James Madison] head coach likes to redshirt a lot of freshman, and I would be redshirted next year – that’s what I was told, so I wasn’t very happy about it. But Georgia Southern told me that I would be starting next year, which was kind of a big deal for me.

RN: What do you think you might be studying at GSU?

YHK: I’m thinking about going into the business/logistics area, but it’s still up in the air.

RN: Coach Johnson noted that you are the second RHS football player in the past four years to earn a full football scholarship at a Division I college. The other was punter C.J. Feagles [son of retired New York Giants punter Jeff Feagles], who signed with North Carolina in 2009. How well do you know the Feagles family, given that they are kickers as well?

YHK: Mr. Feagles [Jeff] actually gave me a lot of advice. Over the summer, before all this recruiting stuff started, I got a chance to talk to him for a while, and he advised me on what to expect and what it’s going to be like looking at schools. He’s been through all of this with C.J., so he helped me out a lot and gave me a good idea of how things work [in the recruiting process].